Crudites 101

My go-to easy summer appetizer is a lovely assembly of raw or poached veggies with an assortment of dips. But, rather than haphazardly arranging your carrots and cucumbers on a plate, or dashing off to CostCo for a ready-made version that's been sitting in the refrigerator for ten days, take a bit of care, and you'll produce a visual display that might make even the kiddies want to gnaw on some crudites.

Here are my tips for making a veggie platter more scrumptious:

• Select vegetables by color and arrange in color blocks, balancing each shade with another veggie of a similar hue on the opposite part of the platter.
  
• Use a large white platter, the colors will pop.
• Have at least two different kinds of dips. I find that one kind of hummus and one cream based dip generally satiate most any audience from your kooky vegan friend to your meat-lovin' uncle. Trader Joe's Mediterranean hummus and their Parmesan artichoke dip are the crowd pleasers among my group of friends.
  
• Select at least one "fancier" vegetable. I generally boil a bunch of asparagus in water for two minutes (or even less if they're thin). Then immediately drop into ice water. Allow the veggies to cool in the fridge. These add a bit more elegance to the platter. French string beans are a nice alternative if asparagus is not in season.
  
• If kids will be at the party, load up on carrots. Carrots always run out first.
  
• If you are hosting the gathering, replenish your platter! Nothing looks less appetizing than one limp asparagus adjacent to the red pepper that no one else wanted.
• Stack something round in the center--- cherry tomatoes are a delightful space filler.